As the Sky Falls
by firefox369
Summary: She's injured, transported to a place she's never been, lost in the middle of the woods, found by a magician on the run, could things get any worse? Apparently they can. How many puppies had she kicked in her past life to deserve this? IYxHowlsMovingCastl
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Howl's Moving Castle or Inuyasha. I Also don't own the song 1000 Words.

**As the Sky Falls**

Chapter 1

firefox369

_I know that you're hiding things..._

_...using gentle words to shelter me._

A soft wind blew threw the trees, rustling them lightly. A herd of elk grazed in the grass a few paces away, heads lowered and ears rotating back and forth. The ruby red sky, courtesy of the fading sun, dyed everything crimson. Even the rays that showed between the leaves held a bloody hue to them. The elk suddenly raised their heads in alarm and stampeded into the protection of the nearby trees. A large shadow fell over the land the elk had just recently escaped, covering everything in darkness. The thing stumbled awkwardly, pipes poking out at random spots and spewing forth clouds of smoke and gas. It groaned loudly with it's movements, the sound of the creaky joints deafening to even the worst ears. Metal clattered against metal, gears and pulleys creaking and moaning as they were strained.

Then, just as quickly as it came, it passed, and everything was as it had been. The elk gradually exited their hiding spot and continued to feed on the sweet grass beneath their hooves. However, the large machine stopped about half a mile away before spinning around and turning toward the direction it had come from. This time, it moved more vigorously, the spindley legs racing almost frantically across the ground. The elk were once again forced to run, but they did not return when the metal structure suddenly lowered itself.

_Clack!_

A door opened from the back of the contraption and out stepped a blonde-haired man, a light robe wrapped around his shoulders. His blue eyes blinked as they adjusted to the sudden change of light, and he rose a hand to block some of the sun to ease the pain his irises were suffering.

"Where are you going, Master Howl?" a child shouted from within, auburn hair swaying as he climbed on top of the railing, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"Don't leave the house, Markle" the blonde-haired man replied, smiling softly beneath his long, golden bangs, "I shall return shortly."

"Did you sense something?"

_Bang!_ The door slammed shut and the young man moved cautiously toward the trees, gazing wearily within as if expecting some sort of trap to be sprung upon him. He _was_ a well-known magician, after all, so it would not surprise him if someone had truly wished to capture him. A valuable asset to the country he resided in, and a feared enemy for his adversaries is he so chose, that was what he was. His ears picked up heavy breathing and he stepped deeper into the forest to find the source. The noise sounded pained, as if the owner of it was in agony. And that was when he saw it. That was when he saw the faint trail of blood leading him deeper and deeper into the trees, farther through the undergrowth, until he reached a clearing; in the clearing was a girl.

"Who are you?" the girl hissed between her clenched teeth when he stepped into a ray of light and was able to see her clearly. Long, raven hair flowed down her back in gentle waves that reached her waist. Her bangs were not long, but long enough to cover her eyes when her head was lowered. Her body was petite, with porcelain skin from what he could see from under her shredded clothing. Her dress was strange for the area, reminding the magician of a nightgown he had once seen on display at a local market. It was quite revealing, but had a majestic quality to it nonetheless.

"I came to help you."

"I don't need your help" she bit out, and he saw her hand clench her side so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Blood dripped between her fingers, leaving small, crimson rivulets in their wake. It seemed that the injury was worse than he had anticipated.

"Move your hand" he commanded softly, walking over to her and kneeling beside her. Glancing up, he was surprised to see deep, hazel eyes staring straight into his own. The defiance within them was overwhelming, but the pain seemed to flicker above the stubbornness. After a few moments of internal debate, the girl complied and removed her bloodied hand from the wound. A sharp hiss escaped her clenched teeth when the male's larger hand gently carressed it. Her eyes blazed with agony and she tried to move away from him, but the shifting stretched the injury and caused her more pain.

The man regarded her carefully, deciding how he would go about fixing the large cut. It was deep, and quite lethal if an infection decided to contaminate it. Luckily, the running blood kept any possibility of that away for the moment.

"Come, I'll bring you to my castle" he suggested as he stood. The girl watched him nervously. Could she trust him? However, before she could state any of her thoughts, he waved his hand. The girl was lifted into the air, her clothing billowing slightly, and she hovered beside the man.

"Magician" she whispered thoughtfully, though it sounded more like a low growl of hatred because of her gritted teeth. He gave a simple smile, seemingly not taking any notice of the single word she had said. "What is your name?"

This caused the blonde man to blink, and he gazed at her from beneath his golden locks.

"Howl, and you are?"

"Kagome."

They stepped out of the forest and Kagome took notice of the strange, misshaped structure in front of them.

"This is your castle?" she asked skeptically and Howl nodded excitedly, hurrying over to the door and opening it. With another wave of his hand, the ebony-haired female drifted into the home and was placed on a wooden chair.

"Master, you've returned!" a child exclaimed, racing down the stairs against the wall farthest from the door. He peeked through the wooden bars, staring at the girl with an unhidden look of excitement. "Who's she?"

"This is Kagome, Markle. She'll be staying with us until she 's healed. I expect you to treat her well." His gaze then turned to the flickering flames in the fireplace next to the seat Kagome was occupied. "Heat some water for me, would you Calcifer?" Two eyes blinked in the center of the flickering fire, followed by an annoyed groan.

"Do you _want_ me to go out?" the fire moaned and Kagome's eyes narrowed, her hand glowing a light lavender. "Hey, hey! Don't you try to kill me, now!" Feeling the spike of energy, Howl decided to intervene before any irreparable damage was dealt. Calcifer, however, guickly ducked behind a piece of wood. He could feel that something was wrong with the girl. Something _big,_ and the claws on her fingers were a sure sign of it.

"Now, now, Kagome. Calcifer is a friend, you don't need to harm him."

"He's a youkai" was all she said, the lavender aura disappearing from her hand. Howl smiled and patted her shoulder before moving off to do whatever he had been doing previously. The fire watched worriedly as the talon-like nails disappeared as well.

"There we go."

"What's a yukay?" Markle asked, bounding down the last few steps and picking up a kettle that had been buried beneath a pile of papers, books, and crumbs.

"A youkai is the word for a demon in the other world."

Markle's eyes widened in amazement, the kettle dropping from his hands and clatteringpainfully against the stone floor. "Are you from hell?" he gasped.

Kagome's eyes scrunched up in confusion. "Iie." Unluckily for her, her rejection just so happened to sound like a 'yeah' to the boy, and he raced to her side with wide, pleading eyes.

"Wow! What's it like? Are there lots of demons? Is it really as fiery as people say? Did you get to see the devil?"

"Markle, she said 'no;" Howl interrupted, chuckling slightly, "now get the water ready, her injuries need to be taken care of."

"Yes Master" the red-headed child grumbled, scurrying off to pick up the kettle from the place where it was abandoned on the ground and fill it with water. Kagome, in turn, slowly turned her head to stare at Howl's profile from behind. Sensing her gaze, the magician acknowledged her with a soft "Yes?"

"You know about the other world?" she questioned and Howl nodded, knowing she could see the gesture. "Do you know how I might be able to get back?"

Markle raced past her and placed the kettle on top of the fire named Calcifer, who gave a sputtering cough before bursting blue and obeying Howl's commands.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I don't. I'm not an expert at that type of magic."

"Oh."

"I can help you find someone who might be able to help you, though."

At this, Kagome visibly brightened and she turned to face Howl with an expression of hope and pleading. She would have collapsed onto all fours and bowed if it wouldn't exacerbate her injury even further. Howl laughed lightly at her reaction, spinning around to reveal some sort of pulp in a small mixing bowl. He gracefully moved to her side and knelt next to her, the cloak around his shoulders billowing gently in his wake.

"What is that?" Kagome asked nervously, staring at the pukish-colored mush.

"Medicine, it will prevent the wound from becoming infected, and it will also help to stop the bleeding" he replied, reaching for the shredded remains of Kagome's clothing.

"It smells horrible."

"But it does what it's meant to do quite well."

"I'm sure" she grumbled, allowing the man to rip her dress a little further so he could reach the slashes more easily.

"Is the water heated, Markle?" he questioned as he got up and walked back to the messy table he had been at before.

"Almost!" the child chirped, rolling back and forth on the heels of his shoes. "What are you doing now, Master Howl?"

"Go get the bandages from bathroom, please" Howl stated simply and Markle pouted, but obeyed. His curiosity would be quenched soon, everyone knew that. After the child had raced up the stairs, Howl once again turned around to face Kagome. He leaned against the table with a sigh and Kagome knew that he had noticed _something_ about her.

"You're not a normal human, Kagome, I can tell. Would you mind telling me what you are?"

"I'm not quite sure what you're talking about" she answered.

"You know very well what I speak of. I need to know. I can't have a spy residing in my home, now, can I?"

"I'm not a spy."

"Then what are you?"

"A priestess."

"Not the average one, I'm assuming" he commented and Kagome slumped against the back of the wooden chair, not wanting to crane her neck to see him anymore.

"Where I come from, all priestesses have my abilities."

"You mean in the other world."

"Y-"

"Here you go!" Markle called as he clomped down the stairs and handed Howl the bandages.

"Thank you Markle. Get the water ready for me, would you?"

"Yessir!"

Markle hurried over to the pot of water that was now screaming on top of Calcifer's flames and poured the water in to a large bowl.

"So what happened while I was upstars?" he suddenly questioned when he plopped the bowl onto the table near Kagome, some of the hot liquid sloshing over the edges of the bowl and splashing onto the ground. Although he was a child, the tense atmosphere did not go unnoticed by him.

"Nothing, Markle" Kagome replied, "Your master just wanted to get to know me a little bit better."

"Oh. Are you going to stay here?" the boy inquired innocently, bright eyes gazing at Kagome expectantly.

"Ano..." she murmured and Markle visibly drooped.

"No...?" he repeated and Kagome shook her head.

"No, no!"

"You're not staying?"

Kagome scratched her head, trying to think of a way to explain the differences in their languages but Howl, much to her relief, beat her to it.

"Ano is like 'Um,' Markle."

"Oh. So are you staying?"

"A-ano..." Kagome stuttered.

"Only until her wounds heal."

"Yes!" Markle exclaimed, punching the air with glee. "Don't you worry Kagome, I'll take good care of you here!"

"_We'll_ take good care of her" Howl corrected, "you're not ready for that much responsibility quite yet."

Markle pouted as he crossed his arms over his chest and Kagome smiled, reminiscing about a time when her life was much the same as theirs, and missing it greatly.

Her gaze darkened slightly, not going unnoticed by Howl, who watched as her eyes narrowed and her lips tightened.

She would find a way home, even if it was the last thing she ever did.

To Be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Howl's Moving Castle or Inuyasha. I also don't own the song 1000 Words. The only thing I own is the idea of this plot. If it is similar to any other story or fanfiction, I apologize. It was not my intention.

AN: Thank you all _so_ much for the reviews, it's the highest number I've ever gotten on one chapter, and it's made me a little giddy. In all actuality, this fic was just an experiment. I hadn't planned on continuing it for a while, and had just posted the first chapter on a whim. (I had the first chapter written for about three months prior to the posting, but never started the next chapter) I figured that I might get hate mail if I didn't update some time soon, so, hope you enjoy the next chapter of...

**As the Sky Falls**

Chapter 2

firefox369

_Your words were like a dream...  
...But dreams could never fool me...  
Not that easily..._

A shadowed figure listened intently for any sign of life within the darkened forest as its covered feet silently padded against the ground. Crickets chirped loudly, bats squeaked as they released their sonar, an owl hooted far off in the trees, but these were not the things that he searched for. No. He was searching for a human, someone he had been hunting for over a year.

Suddenly, the figure stopped and stooped down to gaze intently at a bush. Slowly, he reached out his hand and pulled off the soft fabric that had snagged on a twig, having ripped from its former cloth. He carefully rubbed it between his thumb and pointer finger before glancing down and seeing a single footprint implanted in the earth. A hum of satisfaction escaped his lips when he followed it in the direction it led, a splotch of darkness accompanying it every few feet.

Blood.

Though dry, the crimson stains still had yet to disappear into the soil, or to be washed away by rain. The injured person could not have passed by more than a few hours ago.

Who the blood belonged to was unknown, but his prey would, without a doubt, be progressing much more slowly than before, and that was all that mattered to him. A sinister smirk curled the man's lips as he brought the cloth to his trained nose. Yes, the cloth was somehow connected to his prey, along with the blood, he could smell it. Excitement coursed through his veins as the full brunt of the realization struck. His chase was nearly at an end.

"Soon" he mused quietly to himself, "we'll meet each other again soon."

Many miles away, hiding within the cover of fog-covered knolls, a large machine continued it's steady, rhythmic creaking as it ambled across the country. Its destination was unknown, as it was nearly always on the move and almost never seemed to stop for any reason at all. Smoke billowed in large puffs from a tower protruding at an odd angle from the contraption, the pollution blending in sightlessly with the fog.

Within the metal structure, all was silent. Not even the noise it created was heard, yet not everything was still. The demon flame, Calcifer, still licked away at the wood he consumed earlier that evening, even in his slumber.

And then, there was the soft noise of cloth rubbing against skin as a black-haired girl draped a cloak over her small form. She was mindful of her injuries, careful not to overly stretch the wound and reopen it. Silently making her way to the door, Kagome fought back a wince as she reached over her shoulder for the hood. A hand suddenly grabbed hers and she gasped, stifling a scream as she whirled around to face her captor.

"Where do you think you're going, little lady?" the larger form mused softly, sliding his hand downwards to grasp her wrist.

"None of your business" Kagome retorted, sticking her chin in the air as her cerulean eyes narrowed. She was tempted to release an annoyed 'feh,' but she stomped that random urge to the very depths of her mind. It seemed that Inuyasha had a larger impact on her than she had imagined.

"Now, now, miss, I need to-"

"Kagome. Get it right" she interrupted and Howl sighed, nodding.

"Yes, yes, _Kagome_. I need to make sure that you aren't a spy of any sort. I trusted you before, but this little," Howl hesitated as he glanced at the door behind her, "_almost_ escapade of yours is starting to make me regret that."

"I'm not a spy."

"Hard to believe that when you're about to run out the door at this ungodly hour" Howl commented and Kagome visibly deflated. There was silence between the two, and Howl was debating whether or not to release her when she spoke again.

"Look, you, I need to get out of here" she finally murmured.

"Why?"

Kagome mumbled something under her breath, but the only words that the magician could decipher were 'don't,' 'want,' and 'hurt.'

"If you're worried about your safety, I assure you that no harm can come to you here" Howl stated matter-of-factly and Kagome glared at him.

"It's not me that I'm worried about!" she hissed.

"Then what _are_ you worried about?"

"You! You and Markle and Calcifer, all of you!" she shouted, flinging her unrestricted arm in her annoyance.

"Huh."

"Huh? All you've got to say is 'Huh'?" Kagome felt as if her head was going to explode at any moment.

"Why would you be worried about us?"

"They're after me! That's why!"

Howl's eyes lightened up and a wild grin brightened his features from confusion to glee. This shocked Kagome into silence. Her jaw dropped in surprise, eyes wide. She had just told him that she was being hunted, yet he _smiled_ at her like he was some sort of maniac!

Oh noes. What if he was a maniac?

The young woman's shock turned into fear at the thought.

"Don't worry; they're after me, too!"

Kagome stumbled backwards into the door and shook her head. This was not happening to her, this _could not_ be happening to her. She had been saved from dying in the woods by some crazed, magical, _wanted_ man that had a freakishly shaped castle run by a _demonic fireplace_.

She shook her head in horror and slumped against the door, placing her full weight against it.

"No, no, don't lean back on that" Howl stated quickly as he tried to pull the raven-haired woman away from the exit. However, she didn't hear what he had said, and when he yanked on her arm she had automatically assumed the worst, leading to an extremely undesirable situation for the young magician. With a shout of fear, she slammed her hand against the doorknob and grabbed it as tightly as the appendage would allow.

"You're going to break the door!" Howl cried, tugging harder.

"Itai!" Kagome yelped and Howl immediately stopped, remembering too late about the injury he had bandaged earlier that day. A dark stain colored through the darkness of her cloak, and the blonde male felt a tinge of guilt at his actions. He hadn't meant to scare or hurt her!

"Quiet, would you? Some people are trying to sleep!" Calcifer snapped as he leaned precariously off the edge of a burning log. He waved a flaming fist at the two humans in his frustration, as he had been awakened from a particularly _nice_ dream about forest fires and freedom.

"I apologize, Calcifer, we just need to clear up a few of these misunderstandings of ours and we'll go right back to bed."

The flame gazed tiredly at the man before grudgingly snuggling against the wood and ash within the fireplace. A small cloud of dust puffed up as he did so, floating in the air for a few moments before settling back down on whatever surface it happened upon.

"You're bleeding again" Howl mumbled quietly and Kagome bit her lip with annoyance. The man still had yet to release her arm.

"Of course I am, _baka_!" she shouted, fuming.

"Kagome, I just told Calcifer that we were going to let him slee-"

"I don't care! Let me out of this castle!"

"It's already night. What do you plan on doing, wandering around in the middle of nowhere with your guts spilling out all over the place to attract wild animals? Do you _want_ to die?"

Kagome noticed, with grim amusement, that Howl's voice slowly began to rise in decibels throughout the entire argument. He was nearly shouting now.

"I thought I told you to keep it down!" Calcifer growled, cracking one, furious eye open to glare at the two standing by the doorway.

"I'm trying to get Kagome to do that right now" Howl informed as he turned to gaze coldly at the fire, his tone was hard and offered no room for argument. The demonic flame grumbled under his breath as it shut its eye again. Satisfied, the magician faced the priestess and began to speak to her slowly, calmly, trying to talk things out without the conversation turning into another full out shouting match.

"I know you're worried, annoyed, hurting-"

"You have no idea" Kagome chuckled humorlessly.

"-but you need to calm down. Nothing-"

"What's going on, Master Howl?" a voice yawned from the stairs on the opposite side of the room, and Howl waved his hand in a dismissal.

"Nothing, Markle, go back to bed."

"Is Kagome trying to leave?" the rust-haired child inquired, a hint of fear in his voice.

"I just wanted to go out on a little stroll but your _master_ here isn't so willing" Kagome replied, spitting the word 'master' as if it were a curse.

"Why can't Kagome go out on a walk?" the boy asked innocently, leaning forward against the bars of the railing and poking his head through the cracks between the circular poles.

"It's simple really-" Howl started with a small wave of his hand.

"-this person right here-" Kagome continued, pointing at the man who _still_ had yet to let go of her.

"-doesn't seem to-"

"-trust me" the two finished in unison. Everyone blinked owlishly at the exchange, even Calcifer, and the house finally had it's first few moments of silence since the moments Kagome tried to leave. The two young adults gazed at each other, silent, shocked, and utterly confused.

"What do you mean I don't trust you?" the male demanded and Kagome growled lowly, deep in her throat. It was a bestial sound, one that Howl had not expected to hear coming from a young lady such as herself. Despite the circumstance, he couldn't help but feel a little… _awed_ by it.

"Oh, just _let go of me_ already!" the miko bit out, ripping her arm free from his grasp. However, in her struggling, she had conveniently forgotten that her hand was still holding tightly onto the doorknob. As a result, with her jerky yank from Howl, she stumbled to the side and twisted the knob. The door, in turn swung open and the girl found herself heading for an extremely painful and ungraceful landing on the grassy hills speeding by beneath the castle.

In an attempt to stop her fall, Kagome reached out and grabbed the closest thing in reach, which just so happened to be the unfortunate sorcerer and magician known as Howl. Howl, who was not expecting the sudden tug from the girl, lost his balance and also tried to grab something to hold on to though, much to his horror, there was nothing within reach and his hand grasped empty air. Both ended up tumbling out of the moving building and landed roughly on the hardened earth anyway.

"I blame you for this, you cursed-" the magician began as he sat up, but abruptly stopped speaking when he saw the girl a few feet away from him. Wincing slightly when he stood, the blonde hobbled over to his injured companion and collapsed beside her with a huff.

She wasn't moving.

Scratch that. She was _breathing_, that counted as movement, he supposed.

"After all the work I went through to bandage you" he complained, dejectedly giving a poke to an uninjured portion of her side. "Stubborn."

His eyes suddenly narrowed as he gazed into the hazy fog. The loud screeches made from the metal joints of the castle could still be heard, but Howl swore that he had heard something else in the darkness, some sort of _muttering_, or _chanting_.

_Chanting._

The fog grew darker, thicker, more _ominous_ as the noise continued, and Howl scooted closer to Kagome, close enough to feel her dark locks through the cloth of his trousers.

Although he hated to admit it, he was a little nervous at the moment.

"Calcifer?" he called loudly, comforted slightly when the deafening creaks and groans became louder and louder. Whether or not the building would make it to them before the offender struck was still a question at hand, but he was happy to know that the demon had not abandoned him.

And then he sensed it, a high concentration of energy flying towards him at a high speed. Spinning to face the direction from where the energy came, he was not expecting to see a _sword_ soaring straight at him. Worse yet, the sharp object was flying at such a speed that Howl would not be able to make anything resembling a wall in the allotted time.

The blade came closer and closer, and Howl had just prepared to meet his end, when he was suddenly scooped up into the doors of the moving castle and flung safely inside. Not a second later, an unconscious Kagome landed on top of him.

"What was that, Master Howl?" Markle questioned and Howl quickly stood up, gently placing Kagome on the floor before racing up the stairs and onto the balcony. The wind blew his hair wildly in all directions, but he could see something in the fog nonetheless. He squinted, trying to see what was in the darkness, when his blonde locks blew into his line of sight and blocked the silhouette from his view. By the time he had moved the stray locks from his gaze, the figure was gone.

In its place, at about the area where the head should have belonged, was a set of glowing, red eyes.

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Don't sue.

As the Sky Falls

Chapter 3

firefox369

_...I acted so distant then  
Didn't say goodbye before you left  
But I was listening..._

--------

_"Stay away from her bastard!"_

_"What are you talking about? She's _my_ woman, mutt-face! _You_ stay away from her!"_

_------------_

_"Kagome! Do you have anymore of that pokey stuff?"_

_"Pocky. It's called pocky."_

_-------_

_"Kagome, maybe you should go back to your time and rest for a few days. I'm sure that hoztipal place will be able to heal your wounds."_

_"I can't leave you guys. The final battle is coming soon. I can feel it."_

_"Feh. A lot of good you're going to be sitting on the sidelines being eaten by demons."_

_"Baka!"_

_"Wait! What did I do this ti-"_

_"Sit!"_

_------------------_

A splash of water resounded through the dark, stone insides of the moving castle as a soaked towel was twisted dry. The warm water within a large bowl was tinted red with fresh blood, the crimson liquid slowly swirling through its darkening depths as it diffused into the once clear water. Blue eyes hidden behind blonde bangs gazed at the solution thoughtfully. Perhaps it was time the water was changed.

"Markle!" Howl called. Soon enough, the magician heard the telltale clomping of boots on the wooden staircase that signified his ward's arrival. A pair of hands grasped the wooden railing as Howl looked up, followed by a mop of red hair and dark brown eyes.

"Yes Master Howl?" the child inquired curiously.

"Heat some water for me."

Markle nodded, did a mock salute, and marched dutifully to the cluttered table on the opposite side of the room. The surface was covered in piles of spell books, dirty dishes, random laundry, and stale bread. The redhead made a vow to clean it after putting a pot of water on Calcifer's flames, a promise that he knew probably would not be kept.

"How many times do you plan on killing me today?" the flame griped before releasing a sputtering cough and resigning to its duty.

"This is the first time we've heated water today" Howl sighed, cerulean eyes gazing at the newly-opened wound in the girl's side. "Though, she really is a lot more trouble than she's worth at times" he conceded under his breath. There was a 'humph' of agreement from the demon residing within the safety of the smoldering coals.

Markle cautiously treaded towards his teacher before peaking over the older man's shoulder and blinking curiously at the bedridden girl.

"Is she going to be alright?" he asked and Howl sighed.

"Of course she's going to be alright. She's too stubborn not to be in good health by the end of the day" the blonde grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring pointedly Kagome's strange necklace. He never paid much attention to it before, as it had been hidden beneath her clothing, but the strange pink orb escaped its hiding place when she fell out of the moving architecture, and never had the nerve to place it back where it belonged. After all, he was not about to shove it back down her shirt.

The foreign bauble captivated him, and Howl found his anger draining away as his curiosity overpowered his actions. The magician reached to pick up the object when a wave of foreboding crashed into him and sent a shiver tingling down his spine. He quickly drew his hand back and stared at the pink jewel with confusion.

"What is that thing?" Markle inquired innocently, grabbing it and playing with it between his fingers. "It's really smooth."

"Leave the jewelry alone for now, we'll ask her when she gets up."

"Yes sir!" the young apprentice chirped, setting the orb back where it belonged. He found a new fascination with the crimson tinted water as he thought of what he should do next. After a few minutes of boredom, Markle raised his head to gaze at his master expectantly.

"Yes, Markle?"

"When will she wake up?"

Howl heaved a sigh and slumped against the back of his chair.

"I have no idea."

The redheaded child scowled and crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance. It was an hour before he usually woke up in the morning, but all the chores that needed to be done seemed to have magically disappeared! What was a poor, bored child like him to do?

An image of a cluttered, wooden table entered his mind.

Markle blanched, but, willing to do anything in his boredom, he sidled over to the wooden appliance and began to sort the unruly masses of paper and books. The plates of food could wait until a later time.

---

_"Stop it! He's your brother!"_

_"He's me _half_ brother and would do you good to remember that, wench."_

_"He's still you kin; leave him alone!"_

_"If I leave the bastard alone now, next, you're going to go off spoutin' about how that mangy wolf an' me are distant cousins! It ain't happenin'!"_

_"Now, now, you two, I'm sure there is a better time to-"_

_"Sit!"_

_Crash!_

_"Bitch!"_

_---_

Out of all the things Kagome the bedridden female could have woken up to, a screeching kettle and the frustrated shouts of the demon fire were the last on the list. The kettle was soon accompanied by the loud scrape of a chair, the heavy _clomp, clomp_ of boots as someone walked across the floor, the ear-splitting _crash!_ as a chair fell over and collided heavily with the wooden floor, and more shouts of indignation and surprise. On a good day, the sounds would have been annoying at best, but with the huge headache that she could feel worsening was simply exacerbated by the cacophony of noises.

The rude wake up call kind of made her feel like crying.

"For the love of Merlin's beard, would you settle down!" Howl hissed and the room immediately quieted but for the last, futile squeaks of the steaming kettle. "Thank you."

"Sorry, Master" Markle muttered sheepishly. "I didn't mean to knock over the chair, I really didn't."

"Markle" Howl warned and the child sniffed cheekily before stepping closer to the bed with boiling water in tow. The bottom of his boots clomped unevenly against the wooden planks, making Kagome inwardly cringe with every step he took. His grace could definitely use some work.

"Sorry about the noise" Howl apologized. Kagome fluttered her eyes open upon hearing the underlying irritation.

"No, it's fine. The noise is kind of..." she trailed off as her mind began to wander.

"Refreshing?" Howl finished and the young woman thought for a few moments, then shook her head.

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'Welcome,' actually." she corrected with a final nod of affirmation. "I kind of like it."

Howl smirked, blue eyes twinkling. "Well then, we'll hope that you keep that mindset during your stay."

_Splash!_

Kagome jolted as Markle dumped out the dirtied water down the sink.

"My bad!" Markle shouted from his perch atop the step stool before hopping off and prancing back to the bedside with the large, empty bowl.

"Sit up, I'll bandage your wounds" Howl suggested as Markle poured the boiled water into the bowl, fascinated by the rising cloud of steam. Kagome opened her mouth to argue. A stern look from Howl made her mouth clamp shut and she pouted. Before the young woman could comprehend what he was doing, Howl had reached down and placed a hand behind her back for support. Slowly, he sat her up and began to undo her old, bloodied bandages.

"I can do it myself" Kagome huffed and Howl rolled his eyes.

"Not as well as if you had me do them for you. Now, sit still and let me bandage you."

"I'd rather Markle do it."

"Really?" Markle shouted, ecstatic. "Can I? Can I?"

"No" Howl stated, "You'd kill her before you figured out how to do this properly."

Kagome gently smacked the elder male's hand. "That's not very nice" she chastised, "after all, practice makes perfect. You never know how well he'll do until you let him try."

"He can bandage your wounds after I'm sure you won't die of infection."

The Japanese priestess grudgingly nodded in agreement. "I'll respect that argument."

"Good, now sit still and let me start."

She obeyed with a sigh, shutting her eyes and relaxing against Howl's ministrations. There were a few rounds, especially toward the end, when the gauze had sealed to the wound, and it had taken some serious willpower to keep from screaming as Howl made his best efforts to make the process of removing the old gauze as painless as possible. The miracle balm he used, though, cooled her flaming skin and felt absolutely heavenly against the stinging wounds. His touch was surprisingly gentle, and he seemed to have a reasonable amount of practice with the application of said balm.

"You have a curse" Howl suddenly said as he picked up a fresh roll of gauze and Kagome visibly tensed.

"You can tell."

"I can sense it, but I can't tell the exact details. There's a haze of dark fog surrounding your body. It's hard for me to miss."

"Well, it's not contagious, so don't worry."

"If you tell me the details, I'll look for a way to get rid of it for you."

"No. You're already helping me find a way back home. I'll find a way to rid myself of it on my own."

Howl sighed. "Are you sure you don't want a magician's help?"

"I'm a miko, a holy being. I'll figure something out."

"It's lethal. I can feel it."

Kagome hesitated before smiling warmly. Howl couldn't see it, but from Markle's position sitting across from her on the bed, the tinge of sadness could not be mistaken. More surprising, though, was the strange feeling of _longing_ in her gaze.

"Yeah. I can feel it, too."

_To Be Continued..._


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Inuyasha_, _Howl's Moving Castle _or _1000 Words._ Don't sue

**As the Sky Falls**

Chapter 4

firefox369

_You'll fight your battles far from me  
Far too easily..._

----

Howl muttered to himself as he looked at the creaky bookshelf in the next room. Kagome could hear him murmuring, but couldn't make sense of a word he was saying. He had been in the so called 'study' for over two hours now, and had been grumbling under his breath without halting once. Needless to say, the jumble of noises coming out of his mouth was annoying her to no end. If she weren't so worried about reopening her wounds (which would then cause her to stay in the magician's care even longer), she would have gotten up and knocked him unconscious long ago.

She heard him pause, and her breath caught in her throat in excitement. Was he finally done? Was the torture finally over? Would she finally be able to _get some sleep?_

"Aha!" he cried, which was then followed by a thunderous crash and an agonizing groan. Kagome was ecstatic now. Had he accidentally knocked himself unconscious under the wondrous rampage of a collapsing bookcase?

Luck was not on her side this day, she decided, when the muttering and grumbling continued. This time, however, she could hear the magician hiss out light swears and curses in the midst of his frustrated rant. The string of dissatisfied words was buried by the shuffling of books and the ripping of a few pages. Howl's swears gained in volume, exacerbating Kagome's current lack of patience and driving the level down to an all time low.

"Shit!" Howl wailed not even a moment after Kagome heard a particularly loud tear. She wasn't sure whether to feel amused or murderous at his final outburst. The futuristic miko finally decided on the latter and angrily blasted a hole in the far wall to tame some of the bloodthirsty edge. The flame in the fire pit burst to life and glared at her. "Watch it, would you?" the fire hollered before snuggling back into the warm coves of the smoking embers.

Pain exploded up her arm, and she gritted her teeth in pain while glancing at the smoking appendage. Anger was overcome by agitation when she saw that the affliction that caused her clawed hand had slowly moved up the length of her arm. The bluish scales on her hand were now halfway up her forearm. She could see one of Calcifer's eyes staring at her curiously under a chunk of wood out of the corner of her eye.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Howl demanded, charging out of the dubbed 'study,' though it was little more than a modified bedroom. Kagome was lucky enough to have shoved her arms under the bed covers before the magician rushed into sight. However, she was sure that he could feel the lingering darkness when his face contorted slightly with worry.

Kagome grunted in response to his question, not at all surprised when the man treaded to her side and ripped the covers off the bed. The narcissistic magician actually cared about her wellbeing more than she originally thought.

"Where's the curse? I need some clues so I can find a way to get rid of it. The magic guild would have a field day if I figured out a cure."

Huh. Maybe her opinions of him were correct the first time around...

Kagome held up her smoking arm, relieved when she saw that the scales and claws had faded, along with the bluish tint. Howl scowled, motioning for her to hold the arm closer so he could scrutinize it under his calculating stare. The smoke was beginning to fade, so he quickly used his magic to usher it into a small vial that he randomly conjured from beneath the folds of his cape. He then proceeded to poke and prod at her palm and forearm, occasionally glancing up at he face.

"Why can't Markle do this?" she grumbled. His touch made her feel strangely uncomfortable. Magic was considered a "dark art," however, so the miko quickly excused it as a result of the spells lingering on his skin.

"Markle is out buying food" Howl explained and prodded Kagome's arm a few times, making several of the small hairs on her body stand up in warning. "I would have had him drag you out with him, but someone had to be an idiot and reopen their wounds."

"Damn, narcissistic magician."

"Stubborn, ungrateful alien."

"What happened?" she suddenly questioned. "What happened after we fell out of this...contraption?"

"Castle" Howl corrected. "And nothing happened. I called the castle back and put you on the bed." He wisely edited out the portion with the flying sword and glowing red eyes. The girl didn't need to know that someone was hunting him (or possibly her) down, and that the target had been found, especially if the figure had red eyes. Floating, glowing red eyes usually were never a very good sign. If anything, they should almost be considered a bad omen.

"You lie."

"I am not" Howl argued, appalled. How dare she accuse him of such treachery! Though she was right...

"You're lying. I can smell the guilt and fear on you."

"Just what sort of _Miko_ are you?"

Kagome snorted. "That should be obvious enough, shouldn't it? I'm a cursed miko, smart one." She mentally slapped herself for letting the implication slip out of her mouth. Now the stubborn man would know that the evil spell gave her some animalistic features.

"Ah, so the curse gives you a heightened sense of smell. Anything else?"

"Not that I know of."

"You lie" he stated, mimicking her statement.

"I am not" she mocked.

"Your eye squinted a little. You tend to narrow your eyes when you lie."

"And just how would you know that, Mister Magician?"

Howl shrugged. "I guessed, and you just confirmed it."

Kagome sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to lie herself out of this one. She wouldn't be able to distract him, either. Though she knew the magician was probably easily distracted, she didn't think that anything could drive him out of this "Race for the Cure" rage of his. That recognition from the magician's guild must be really important to him.

"Alright, you want to know?" she taunted, pressing the palm of hand against Howl's above his heart and removing the binds keeping her powers in place. Her hand felt like it was burning as she pressed it against his chest, watching as the nails morphed into claws painstakingly slowly. She dug the claws into the cloth of his shirt and pricked them against his skin for revenge. The magician's muttering had seriously driven her insane when he was looking for the stupid book in the stupid study.

"Ah!" Howl cried, grasping her hand and yanking it away from his body. He felt the skin beneath his hands hardening and rippling, causing him to release her in shock.

Kagome quirked a brow before resetting the barrier on her energy and drawing it back into her body. Like before, the scales lingered on her skin for a few moments before molding back into the pale cells and rejoining their counterparts.

"Is that enough?" she inquired. Howl blinked and rubbed the pricks on his chest.

"Was that really necessary?"

"Revenge."

"Huh. Remind me not to get on your bad side" he stated as he stood up. Kagome laughed at him as he began to make his way back to the study. "What?" he demanded. He needed to get back to his research! He hadn't seen such a perfectly crafted curse in years!

"Believe me, Howl, you're already on my bad side."

Howl conveniently ignored her and charged back into the study in the next room. If the girl wanted to be a pain in the butt, so be it. He would just kick her out of the castle the moment she was healed. That ought to teach her a lesson.

----

_How long had it been since she last saw the light of day? Days? Weeks? Months? In the beginning Kagome had the clock on her light up watch to help her keep track of the time in the shadowy prison, but the light had cracked and her timekeeper was gone._

_"You're awfully hardy for a girl, to last this long in here" a voice whispered and Kagome grinned, though her companion couldn't see it. _

_"I pride myself in my stubbornness" she stated haughtily._

_Her companion gave an undignified snort. "Obviously."_

----

Howl growled impatiently as he flipped through the last book on the shelf. He had gone through approximately one third of the bookshelves in the room, and he was not having any luck finding a clue for a cure to Kagome's predicament. The only things he knew were that 1) she was cursed 2) she was starting to turn into a very large bird, and 3) the curse was degenerative. He knew she was trying to hide the fact, but for crying out loud, the magician wasn't _that_ stupid.

"Curses... curses... animal... degenerative..." he ran his finger down the page containing the table of contents, skimming over the fine print and finally landing his eyes on a page number. In a desperate frenzy, he flipped to the page as fast as he could only to find it missing. Howl groaned when he flipped back to the cover and read the title of the book.

"Seriously?" he whined, setting the book aside and pulling off the next one on the shelf. "Why do I always use the pages I need for kindling?"

To be continued...

_**AN:**_ Sorry, I know this chapter is quite a bit shorter than the others, but I wanted to update this as soon as possible, considering I haven't updated this story in an extremely long time. Hope you liked it! Please review!


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